


A House

by kalirush



Series: Ten Years On [6]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist
Genre: Bittersweet, Community: fmagiftexchange, Domestic, F/M, Kid Fic, Off-screen death, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-31
Updated: 2012-03-31
Packaged: 2017-11-02 19:48:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/372719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kalirush/pseuds/kalirush
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winry comes home after Ed has a day alone with the kids.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A House

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cornerofmadness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornerofmadness/gifts).



> Done for the prompt "Winry returns home to see the aftermath of a day of Ed watching the kids" at [FMA Gift Exchange](http://fmagiftexchange.livejournal.com/).

Winry took Paninya straight to the train station after they got done with dinner and dancing.

“I’ve got to get back to Rush Valley,” she said, cheerfully, while they sat on the bench at the station in their dresses and dancing shoes. “But it was great seeing you.”

Winry smiled and embraced her. “I’m glad you could come out,” she said.

Paninya laughed. “I’m just glad I could drag you away from your kids and that crazy husband of yours!” She winked. “I hope the house isn’t trashed when you get home.”

Winry smiled. “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” she said. “And let’s not talk about crazy husbands, with you and that Carl guy you’ve been seeing!”

“Ah-ah,” Paninya said, waving a finger. “He’s my crazy _boyfriend_. It’s _completely_ different!”

And then Paninya was on the train, smiling and waving and promising to give Winry’s love to Garfiel and Dominic and the LeCoultes.

All kidding aside, Winry thought as she walked home from the station, she did wonder how Ed was getting along. Ed had never been home alone with the kids for a whole day before. He’d never had to be.

A wave of sadness passed over her. Granny had always been there for both of them. It’s not like she’d done things for them; that’s not how Granny was. But still- she’d been a constant in their family since Winry could remember. Granny had only been gone a month, and there was a hole in their lives where she ought to be.

Winry walked up the hill, enjoying the warm spring air. The house came into view, and it didn’t seem to be on fire; that was a good sign. The lights were off upstairs, but she could see a light on in the living room.

When she walked into the kitchen, she saw the remains of the dinner Ed had made for the kids. A frying pan with greasy crumbs sat on the stove, which meant cheese sandwiches. An empty jar of Granny’s tomato soup sat on the counter waiting to be washed.

She reached out and brushed her fingers over the open mouth of the jar. Irrationally, she was upset that Ed had used the soup for dinner. Granny would never can any more soup, and every jar they used was one more piece of her that was gone forever. Part of Winry wanted to yell at Edward for being so thoughtless- but that was stupid. Granny had laid that soup aside to feed her family. She’d think Winry was an idiot if she hoarded those jars.

The dining room table was half-covered with an unfinished jigsaw puzzle. It had a picture of a steam engine on it. Winry didn’t recognize it; Ed must have picked it up on his last trip to Central. Little Al loved puzzles, and Ed loved doing them with him.

The living room was dimly lit by a single reading lamp. Ed was sitting on the couch, snoring gently with his head leaned back. Sara was flopped bonelessly across his chest. One of his large hands was curled around Sara, and the other rested on his belly. There was a book in his lap, lying open to where he’d last been reading.

Winry picked up the book and set it on the table, careful to leave it open to the page Ed had been reading from. She checked to make sure Sara was in a diaper, and then picked her up. Sara stirred and snuffled into Winry’s shoulder. Ed blinked and came awake. “Wha-?”

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Winry said, and took Sara up to her bed.

Ed was sitting up and rubbing his eyes when she returned. “Did you have a good day out?” he asked, sleepily.

“Yeah,” Winry said. “It was great to spend some time with Paninya.”

Ed snorted. “Did you check her pockets before she got on the train?”

Winry socked him in the arm. “It’s been _years_ since she was a pickpocket, Ed!”

“She makes an exception for me,” Ed said, rolling his eyes.

Winry swatted his knee. “How were the kids?” she asked.

Ed shrugged. “Fine,” he said. “I fed ‘em. I let ‘em spar with each other. We did a puzzle.” He yawned. “I should probably do some dishes before bed.”

Winry smiled. “I’ll dry,” she offered.


End file.
